Draftsman&#39;s instrument rack



Aug' 8 1950 w. M. THOMPSON 2,518,401

DRAFTsMAws INSTRUMENT RACK Filed March 2, 1945 v 2 'sheets-sheet 1 FIG. 1. g

INVENTOF?.

Will-'LE 'Thmm'psmn m, Maf l ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1950 w. M. THoMPsoN DRAFTsMAws INSTRUMENT RACK 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed March 2, 1945 "um l FIG. 9.

INVENTOR. Thump 5 :l1-1.

Patented Aug. 8, 1950 UNITED Y GFF'lC'E .2,518,401 DnnF'rsMA-Ns INSTRUMENT nnen Y Willie'Maav Thompson,.Lorane, "I'ex' Application 'March 2, 1945, seri'a'i No. 580,665

(ci. 12on .5 Claims. 1

This invention relates toinstrument `vracks for draftsmen. Thev term instrument is used in a broad sense to include not only such instruments as ruling pens; spring bow compasses and dividers, but also erasers, thumb tacks, scales, drawing pens and pencils, and lead pencil point- -ers such as pencil files and vpaper padsv used in shaping the lead to the desired point or to a chisel shaped end.

The principal object of the invention is to-providea rack rwhich does not occupy much space on the drawing board, yet may support' a great nurnber and a varied assortment of instruments, so as to facilitate the rendering of drawings Vand promote cleanliness and order at the kclrafting board.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rack which may be attached tothe fdrawing board 4by! suction, so that itwill not readily become displaced or slide on the board whenV the latter isA tilted or when using the' pencil pointers.

Akfurther object of `the inventionis to provide a rack which may be made of suitablernaterial,

suchasv molded rubber, wireand pressedAv metal` or molded plastic 4in forming the base, the supportv for such instruments as pencils, pens, scales and other slender objects, and a service or table portion for supporting pencil pointers, erasers, thumbt'acks, etc.

A-stillfurther object istoprovide a rack which is inexpensive to manufacture, easily assembled, and neat in appearance, as well as compact.

Other obiec'ts and advantages of the invention `will appear in the following detailed description of the preferred' embodiment of my invention,

taken in connection with accompanying drawing, 'forming a part of this specification, and in which drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the rack.

Fig. 2 isv a vertical sectional View on substantially the line 2-2 of Fig. l, looking' in the direction of the arrows, the pencil pointers, however vbeing shown removed to disclose details.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on substantially the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig-4 is a bottom plan View `of the base with a` fragment of a suitable pressure plate and retaining devices shown also in bottomplan.

Fig. 5 is a planA View of the pressure plate.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a wire rack forming element.

Fig. '7 is a view partly in horizontal sectionr and partly in plan of the rack, on substantially the line 1`1 of Fig'. 2, but showing the pencil pointers in place. l

Fig'. 8l is a bottom plany viewof a pencil' pointer such as a file. Y

Fig. 9 is a -bottom pla-n View of another pencil pointersuchas a paper pad.

The rack preferably comprises abase |18; a wire rack unit Il;v a table service portion I2 mounted upon thel base and an intermediate portion of the rack unit II; pencil pointersv I3 and IIIv on the 'service portion yf2; and means I5 for securing the unit I l1 and service portion I2 to the' basaand also preferably cooperating with. the pencil pointers I3 and 'M2 to removably retainthem against' displacement on the service portion l2.

The base I I! is preferably horizontally ellen gated soft rubber suction cup, havinga front side wall l', .a rear sid'e wall 111:, end walls 128 and a top wall -I9 defining a cavi-ty 2U in which a parti rl vacuum may be created in 'the well4r known manner, when thelower margins! of the walls t6, vII and I8- engage the surface of a drawingboard, or material mounted thereon', to prevent sliding of the rackwith respect'to the surface it engages and to prevent `movementrofV theraok when either lpencil` pointer I3 or I4 isfbeing used.- Thietop wall I9 is preferably provided with an opstanding longitudinal ribfor step -2-I extending adj acentthe rear side wally I`1',thuspresenting a-1ov/erat-surface 22, a riser 2-3 and an upper iiat surface 24. For a purpose to be subsequently' set forthh the toplwallV vI 9 is provided with a plurality of vertical Ways' 25 open to the' cavity" 2U and the surface' 22,

and a plurality of vertical' ways *'26 open to the cavity 20 and the surface 2B.

WhileI-ha-ve disclosed the base IO' as preferably in the `nature of avv suctionecup', it is to be understood that certain'Y advantages of the invention maybe had using' a different type of base, which does not preclude the use of a solid `base or one off suflicient weight' to maintain the stability of the rack on the drawing board under ordinary conditions and such forces to which it may be subjected, as when 'pointing pencils, or placing or' removing instruments witl-i respect to certa-in parts of the rack.

The wire rack 'l I unit preferably comprises a generally sinuousmajor body part 28 shown in plan in Fig. 6, and a coiled minor part 2'9 which may be like or similar to the ordinary coiled spring pen and pencil rack, receiving'instruments between the convolutions thereof` in the well known manner.

The Vlbody part *28" is preferably made of a continuous piece of wire or the like, having spaced upright terminal' portions vor rstandards 30' to which the end portions of the horizontally" cl'l's l posed coiled minor part 29 are secured, such as by soldering or welding, at 3|. The continuous section 32 of wire between the lower portions of the standards 30 is sinuous as shown in Fig. 6, to provide an even number of relatively long, parallel sections 33, disposed transversally of the base II) and front and rear bight sections 34 and 35, joining the front and rear ends of the par*- allel sections 33, respectively. Each wire section 33, as shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 6, has sub-sections to engage the base I0, as follows: a horizontal sub-section 36 to engage surface 24, a vertical sub-section 31 to engage riser 23, and a horizontal sub-section 38 toengage surface 22. These various sub-sections 36, 31

and 38 constitute a retaining portion -of the rack I I clamped between the base I and table service portion I2. From portion 38, the section 33 is then bent downwardly to provide a portion 39 in obtuse angular relation thereto, and then upwardly to provide a portion 49 in substantially right angular relation to portion 39. The bight sections 34 join the front portions of adjacent sections 33 starting with the outermost of said sections 33, and the bight sections 35 join the I rear portions of the sections 33, and also engage the surface 24 of base I9. The portions 39 and 40 may serve as a support for any suitable instrument, such as a scale or other long or slender tool.

In the example shown the base I0 has three vertical ways and three vertical ways 26 and it is therefore preferred to provide three pairs of wire sections 33, as shown partly by full lines and partly by dotted lines in Fig. 7, and to have the sections 33 of each pair somewhat closely adjacent one another and spaced an equal distance to each side of the axes of adjacent ways 25 and 26 so as to render the means I5 very effective in retaining the wire rack unit II against displacement, as hereinafter described. It is to be understood, however, that these characteristics of the wire rack unit herein described are by way of example, since the shape of the sections and other characteristics may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, which, insofar as the wire rack unit is concerned, is to provide a support for instruments at the front and to the rear of the device as a whole.

The table service portion I2 may be formed from sheet metal, such as aluminum alloys or molded or otherwise for-med of plastic material and comprises, for engagement with portionsV of the base IG, the following: a lower step portion 42 for surface 22, a riser 43 for riser 23, and an upper step portion 44 for surface 24. Then, in addition it comprises a riser 45 along the rear margin of step portion 44, which may engage and steady the standards a major trough section 46 extending along the front margin of step portion 42; a communicating trough section 41 extending along one end margin of step portion 42; and, a tray 4S extending adjacent the other end Amargin of step portion 42 as well as along the adjacent ends of riser 43 and upper step` portion 44, the tray being connected to the lower step por-v tion by a vertical web 5I). The tray 48 is useful as a receptacle for erasers, thum'btacks, etc. The trough sections 46 and 41 are to receive carbon dust of pencils pointed by use of the pointer I3 and are preferably open at ends so that the dust may be caused to slide therefrom when the rack as a whole is removed from the drawing board and tilted, or to facilitate removal of the dust by use of a cloth or other suitable medium. The step portions 42y and 44 may be provided with perforations 5| and 52 aligned with the vertical ways 25 and 26, respectively, to accommodate parts of the means I5. The lower step portion 42 receives the pencil pointer I3, which may be a metal file coeXtensive therewith, and provided with recesses 53 open at its bottom, axially aligned but of greater diameter than the perforations 5I. The upper step portion 44 receives the pencil pointer or burnisher I4, which may comprise a cardboard base 54 carrying strips of paper 55 or other Asuitable material arranged in scratch pad fashion, the base 54 being coextensive with step portion 44 and provided recesses or perforations 51 open at the bottom of the base, these perforations being axially aligned with but of a diameter greater than the perforations 52.

The means I5 preferably comprises sets of bolts 58 and 59 provided with nuts 56 and 6|, respectively and a pressure plate 32 shown more particularly in Fig. 5, provided with perforations 53 and 64 which axially align with the vertical ways 25 and 26, respectively. The bolts 58 have heads 65 which are accommodated in the recesses 53 'of pencil pointer I3 and bear upon the top of step portion 42, while the shanks 36 extend thru the perforations 5I, between adjacent sections 33 of the wire rack unit, and thru the vertical ways 25 of the base I 0 and perforations 63 of plate 62. The bolts 59 have heads 51 which are accommodated in the recesses or perforations 51 of pencil pointer I4 and bear upon the top of step portion 44, while the shanks 68 extend thru the perforations 52, between adjacent sections 33 and near the bight sections 35 of wire rack unit I I, and thru the vertical ways 26 of the base and perforations 64 of plate 62. When the nuts 6I) and 6| are turned tight against the plate 52 portions of the parallel sections 33 of the wire rack I are embedded in the base IB and th-e table service portion is rmly secured to the `base.

When usingvthe rack, it will be noted that cai'- bon dust incident to use of the pointer I3 will not nd its way to any instrument resting on the front part of rack II because of the trough section 46; that carbon` dust resulting from use of pointer E3 will drop into the trough sections or may be jarred thereinto by tapping the rack; that 'the pointer or burnisher I4 is sufficiently above the pointer I 3 that the hand of the draftsman is not likely to be injured by the pointer I3; and that the coil spring instrument rack portion 29 is well above the pointers I3 and I4 so that any instruments held thereby are well above the pointers so as to not interfere with their use. The pointers I3 and I4 may be readily removed for cleaning and replacement yet are rmly held in place while in use.

While I have herein described in detail the preferred embodiment of my invention, changes in details and proportions of parts may be resorted to without ydeparting from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an instrument rack, a soft rubber base, having outer upper and side faces; a wire rack unit, comprising an instrument-supporting portion, extending outwardly of the plane of one of said faces, and a retaining portion, disposed upon said base; means to provide a table service portion and a pressure plate for said retaining portion to press against said retaining portion to cause saidretaining portion to imbed into said rubber base, including a plate portion of rigid material disposed upon said retaining portion and said upper face; and means to 'draw said plate portion toward and against said upper face and said retaining portion.

2. In 4an instrument rack, a soft rubber base, having outer upper and side faces; a wire rack unit, comprising an instrument-supporting portion, extending outwardlyof the planes of said upper face and one of said side faces, and a retaining portion, disposed upon said base, and comprising spaced-apart wire sections, means to providev a table service portion and a pressure plate for said retaining portion to press against said retaining portion to cause said retaining portion to imbed into said rubber base, including a plate portion of rigid materialy disposed upon said retaining portion and said upper face; and means to draw said plate portion toward and against said upper face and said retaining portion, including bolts with their shanks extending between adjacent of said portions and extending through said plate portion and base, and nuts for vsaid bolts.

3. In an instrument rack, a base having an upper outer face, an outer face extending downwardly therefrom and an upstanding rib extending from said upper face, and a service portion comprising a lower step portion disposed upon said upper face, an upper step portion disposed uponsaid rib, a riser joining said step portions and in face Contact with an upstanding face of said rib, and a trough section substantially normal to said rib and extending outwardly of the vertical plane of said second-named face and having a portion closely adjacent said second-named face, whereby said trough section, riser and upper step portion, with said secondnamed` face and said rib, resist turning movement as well as transverse movement in one direction of said service portion with respect to said base.

4. In an instrument rack, a base having an upper outer face, an outer face extending downwardly therefrom and an upstanding rib extending from said upper face, and a service portion comprising a lower step portion disposed upon said upper face, an upper step portion disposed upon said rib, a riser joining said step portions and in face contact with an upstanding face of said rib, and a trough section substantially paralleling said rib and extending from said lower step portion outwardly of the vertical plane of said second-named face and having a portion closely adjacent said second-named face, whereby said trough section riser, and upper step portion, 1

with said second-named face and said rib, resist turning movement as well as transverse movement in one direction of said service portion with respect to said base.

5. In an instrument rack, a rubber base having an upper outer face, and a side outer face and an end outer face extending downwardly therefrom, and an upstanding rib extending from said upper face remote from said side outer face and in parallelism therewith, and a service portion of rigid material comprising a lower step portion disposed upon said upper face, an upper step portion disposed upon said rib, a riser joining said step portions and in face contact with an `upstanding face of said rib, and a trough section, substantially L -shaped in top plan, with one portion thereof paralleling said rib and extending from said lower step portion outwardly of the Vertical plane of said Side outer face and closely adjacent said side outer face, and with its other portion extending from said lower step portion outwardly of the vertical plane of said end outer face and closely adjacent said end outer face, whereby said trough section, riser and upper step portion, with said end and side outer faces and said rib resist turning movement of said service portion as well as transverse movement in one direction and longitudinal movement in one direction of said service portion with respect to said base.

WILLIE MAY THOMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 298,379 Heysinger May 13, 1884 689,419 Sandstrom Dec. 24, 1901 812,501 Kayser Feb. 13, 1906 1,045,395 Grogan 1 Nov. 26, 1912 1,055,146 De La Torre Mar. 4, 1913 1,240,706 Gropengieser Sept, 18, 1917 1,658,310 Thompson Feb. 7, 1928 1,800,699 Ohler Apr. 14, 1931 1,879,585 Strachan et al. Sept. 27, 1932 1,904,067 McGehee Apr. 18, 1933 2,288,407 Lada v. June 30, 1942 

